International Insolvency Law Co-Operation and the Common Law

This book analyses the role of the common law in shaping the field of cooperation in insolvency and its relationship with international instruments such as the UNCITRAL Model Law. It provides a succinct summary of the development of case law on the subject and demonstrates the emergence of the co-operation and assistance provisions, and interprets the international provisions descended from it. In providing this analysis, the author draws out examples of relevant case law from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom as well as Malaysia, Singapore, and Jersey and states where the law is still in embryonic form, such as India. The book also includes consideration of US cases and US-style cooperation. It discusses the participation of many of these nations in the development of the UNCITRAL initiative, as well as the relationship of the cooperation provision to other texts, such as the UNCITRAL Model Law and the Recast European Insolvency Regulation. Finally, it highlights the continuing role of the common law in interpreting the texts as well as providing a parallel method for recognition and enforcement in the absence of any governing cross-border framework. This is an invaluable guide for practitioners, academics and judges who are interested in cross-border insolvency law as it currently stands and its ongoing development.

I - A History of Empire and the Development of the Common Law
II - The Common Law Model and Principles
III - The Statutory Models: The Auxiliary Doctrine and Ancillary Assistance Schemes
IV - Cross-Border Insolvency in the United Kingdom
V - Cross-Border Insolvency in Australia
VI - Cross-Border Insolvency in New Zealand
VII - Cross-Border Insolvency in Malaysia and Singapore
VIII - Cross-Border Insolvency in South Africa
IX - Cross-Border Insolvency in Canada
X - Cross-Border Insolvency in the United States
XI - Cross-Border Insolvency in Jersey
XII - A Panorama of Other Common Law Countries
XIII - Influences on the UNCITRAL Initiative
XIV - Competition with Other Initiatives (EIR, Ohada, ADB, SADC, NAFTA)
XV - Conclusion: Multiple Models and Layering
I - Excerpts from Domestic Law Texts
II - Excerpts from International Texts

Paul Omar is Professor of International and Comparative Insolvency Law, Nottingham Trent University, and Visiting Professor, Institute of Law, Jersey. He has written and edited widely on the subject of international insolvency law, most recently Omar (ed): International Insolvency Law - Reforms and Challenges (Ashgate, 2013).